Panic grows up on second album

By Jess Camp

Published April 1, 2008

Guyliner. Tight pants. Albums full of songs that all sound the same. Best friends with Fall Out Boy.

Despite all of the aforementioned things, Panic at the Disco has managed to skyrocket to fame. After the release of their first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, teens everywhere flocked to the stores just to get a poster of singer Brenden Urie so they could have practice make-out sessions with it after bedtime.

Though all of the songs on Panic’s first album really do sound the same (the proof of which is a video on Youtube.com in which a girl plays all of their songs simultaneously to show their alikeness), Panic has a certain charming spunk that makes it stand out.

Finally, after three brutal years of waiting, Panic has given the teen market what it’s been waiting for: Pretty. Odd, which is a pretty accurate description of the band’s sophomore album. Every song on this disc is pretty different, which is a new and welcome change for the boys. In the past, this group’s songs were pretty beat-based and catchy.

But this album is totally different.

A lot of the songs don’t have an obvious hook but are still likeable.

It seems like Panic wanted to make a change from the annoying pop genre, but just weren’t exactly sure which genre to switch to. So a little bit of every type found its way into this record.

Some of the tracks start off with a twangy guitar that sounds as if it were plucked straight out of Nashville.

One such song is “Folkin’ Around.” You can either interpret the title as a way of poking fun at themselves or as a sign of insecurity because they’re not brave enough to give the song a serious name or be a somewhat country band. It’s a pretty good song, though, and for some reason seems like it should have been in the film “Across The Universe.”

Other songs begin with a Vaudeville sound that makes you think it came from the ‘20s.

One such song is “I Have Friends in Holy Spaces.” The song evokes an image of a guy in a red and white striped suit on stilts dancing around with a cane next to that little green frog who was on those Bugs Bunny-like cartoons sometimes. It doesn’t really have any instruments other than a piano and trumpet, but it has a really nice sound.

The song that sounds the most like the old Panic is “Nine in the Afternoon.”

It’s just about a couple that’s in love. The words don’t really make a lot of sense, but the beat is nice, and Urie’s voice is pretty sweet.

The songs have changed for the better on Pretty. Odd. Younger fans may find it hard to adjust to the band’s new mature sound, but perhaps the college-aged and older fans will find it to be much deeper and more pleasing.

Overall, it’s a surprise to discover that these guys pulled out something new and actually unique.

It may cause them to lose some of their older fans, but they’ll probably gain many more fans with this album. That is, only when some pretentious people can get over the fact that they’re listening to Panic At The Disco — many people find it hard to utter a phrase that has this band’s name and “love it” in the same sentence.